hadriel | 004 ✿ audio

So it's a tie.

[Delight sighs, not sounding quite her usual, delightful self. There's a scuffle, like someone pushing back a chair, and then Sorrow's voice echoes into the speaker, further off, like he's standing on the other side of the room.

'Then I decide. You all know my thoughts on the matter.']

No, [Delight counters, her voice wavering slightly. Arguing with Sorrow is always a little intimidating.] We all decide together. Tranquility doesn't want to go, and everyone else here is keeping something in place- everyone except for me.

[There's a brief silence. When Delight speaks again, her voice is hardened, resolute.]

I'm volunteering to go. They picked me. Send me alone or-

['You aren't going alone,' comes Rage's voice, protective and sure- from closer to the mic than Sorrow's had been. It's silent on Sorrow's end, something is decided without words, and Delight speaks a moment later.]

-alright, then it's settled.

[There's a slight pause, before Delight speaks directly into the mic again, her voice changing suddenly to be the cheerful and pleasant goddess that ~~all~~ some of you know and love.]

Did you hear that, guys? Looks like I'll be one of the ones going out! I want you all to be super happy for me the next few days, alright? I can do this for you- for all of us. And Rage is coming with me, and we're really tough! We'll be safe.

I won't let you down!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Oh, okay.

You're Delight, right? The one who vapes?

Anyway, we're on a different plane, right? But gods can travel between planes just willy-nilly, in my experience. So do you know Pan or Istus or any of those other gods? Also, do you know what's going on in the astral plane?

I- um.

[Woah there, dude.]

I'm Delight, yes... but we're not exactly those kind of gods. There's not a word in your language for the kind of beings that we are, so we picked the closest thing. I'm afraid our abilities don't work the same as the gods in your world.

Uh.... Oh.

[Huh. That's not the answer he expected, but it's also way more helpful than he expected.]

Okay then. Sooo, I dunno how to ask this nicely, but are you guys basically keeping us on purpose? Like from what I heard I guess the Door supposedly does its own thing, but... You guys are kinda, benefiting from it??

Yeah.

[She sounds a little sad about it, at least?]

It wasn't my decision to open the Door, nor is it my decision to not reverse it, but the ones who did make those decisions- Fear and Sorrow- did it to save our species.

[A pause.]

You're saving our species. All of you.

[When she says it like that, it almost makes it sound alright.

Almost. Magnus takes a deep breath.]

You ever think about, I don't know, asking nicely? I probably woulda come help if you at least waited for me to finish what I was doing! There are people counting on me on my plane, and, yeah, okay, when it spits us back up we go back to where we were, but you can't just expect people to drop everything with no notice! You're forcing random people against their will -- most of them ain't gonna want to do shit for you! For good reason!

I don't think asking nicely was possible- not with the way the Door works.

[She doesn't seem happy about that.]

I'm sorry, for what it's worth.

[Sigh. Getting angry isn't helping, and she's just being... all regretful and stuff.]

Well. The Door is dumb, it's a dumb thing. And that's what I have to say about that.

...Anyway, have a nice trip.

Thanks! It'll be fraught with danger and peril, but I'll try!

Yyyeah, where and why are you going, again? I totally missed the whole. Thing. That whole part.

Oh! Well, we're all probably going to die because these big bad machine monsters want to kill us and- well, you by proxy!

[Wild, isn't it?]

Rage and I are gonna go spy on them- see if we can find anything that might help the good fight!